


Pokemon Prodigies

by Titanthefanficwritingavalugg



Series: Pokemon Heroes [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Kalos-chihou | Kalos, M/M, Original Pokemon Trainer - Freeform, Pokemon - Freeform, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-03 15:37:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4106113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titanthefanficwritingavalugg/pseuds/Titanthefanficwritingavalugg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amber's family is close to losing their ranch. But Amber has a plan. A crazy, reckless, stupid plan. One that involves making new friends, going on a journey, and catching and cataloging every Pokemon in Kalos. At least she's has her best friend Braedon, her new friend Argent, and her Tyrunt. But can they catch'em all with the mysterious Hallowed Church on their tails?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Amber, Braedon, and Argent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber, Argent, and Braedon prepare for their journey.

Sandalwood Town, or the Town of New Blooms, was the smallest town in Kalos. Connected to only Vaniville Town, this small community boasts a population of less than a hundred- all spread out a sizable amount away from each other, because what the town lacks in population it makes up for in area. Each and every person seemed to know each other, and had grown up together. The people you graduated high school with were the same people you entered kindergarten with.

Naturally, news traveled fast within the community. Before half the workers at Sandalwood ranch knew that the ranch was in financial trouble, the whole town knew.

Heck, the town knew before Amber Dupont did. And her aunt and uncle owned the place.

Adopted at a young age, Amber saw the Ranch as her home. When she learned of her family,s financial troubles, she was devastated. So naturally, she hatched a plan. A reckless, rash, half cooked plan with only a small chance of success.

She was going to catch every Pokemon in Kalos.

* * *

"You what?" Jeremy asked, spitting out his grits (it was breakfast for dinner in the Dupont household, the height of their spontaneity) . He looked at his cousin like she had just morphed into a Psyduck.

"I got accepted into the Prodigy Program." she muttered into the desk. Amber had always been the quiet type- she preferred to sit back and let others talk, namely her best friend Braedon.

"Congratulations!" Aunt Lynn squealed. Though surprised, congratulating her niece came before the inevitable questions.

"Why didn't you tell us you were applying?" Uncle Jim asked gruffly.

"I, uh, didn't think I'd get it."

Uncle Jim snorted. "As if. You're probably the most talented girl at that school."

The school he was referring to was Cyperus Preparatory School for Gifted Trainers, the boarding school Amber and Braedon went to, with a scholarship she worked her ass off to get. Before summer break started, letters were sent out advertising The Prodigy Program, a research project being held by Professor Sycamore. Though calling it a "project" was like calling Arceus a Pokemon. It was so much more than that. The challenge was to catch one of each Pokemon native to Kalos. And by native, they mean all Pokemon that supposedly originated in Kalos and migrated to other regions later. That was over a hundred.

Needless to say, that was a massive undertaking. But no one said a chance at pretty much any scholarship you want was easy.

And if it could save the Ranch...

"I told you you should have entered." Jeremy exclaimed. The blond smiled widely, clearly over his shock. "And you did! But why? I mean, you were against it before."

"Braedon made me." She muttered. That was close enough to the truth. He had come up with the idea...

"Him." Uncle Jim rolled his eyes. "I suppose city boy had tried out too?"

Amber frowned at her chicken and waffles. She knew that was coming. "Yeah."

"And did he get it?"

"Yeah, he did."

Uncle Jim scratched his chin. "Well. I'm suddenly less enthusiastic about you going."

Amber bit her lip but said nothing.

"I mean, you've been getting awful close to this Braedon kid. "

"Not that close." Amber said quietly. She knew what he was implying. "He doesn't like girls anyway. And I don't like him."

"So he says." Aunt Lynn retorted. "That boy's shiftier than a Meowth. He could be lying."

Anber clenched the table. Shy or not, she had to stick up for her best friend. "Braedon doesn't lie to me."

"No, he's not a liar. Just a thief." Jeremy said with eyes more narrow than his opinions.

Amber felt like crying. "I can't believe you guys." she stood up. "I'm doing this for you, and all you want to do is be mean to my friend!"

As soon as the words slipped out, Amber regretted them.

"For us?" Uncle Jim asked.

Amber turned around. "N-nothing. It's nothing."

But uncle Jim was having none of it. "Amber, explain. Now."

Amber faced her uncle. Their was no going back now. "The Program comes with a salary per week... And the Ranch needs the money..."

"Amber, no," Aunt Lynn said. "We're not taking money that's rightfully yours. You need that for college-"

"But don't you get it?" Amber cried. She had no idea where this courage was coming from. "If I do this, I'm guaranteed a full ride to any college I want! And we can keep the Ranch! This is a golden opportunity, and you guys are willing to throw it away because you hate my best friend?" A tear fell down her cheek.

"Amber..." Uncle Jim said soothingly.

But Amber was already out the door.

* * *

Amber's favorite tree was at the center of the field.

A tall, willowy oak, her tree was a work of art. On sunny days you could sit under it and catch beams of light, created by the spaces between the leaves, in your palm. On starry nights Amber would climb the tree and gaze at the stars.

Years ago, aunt Lynn had offered to build her a tree house. Amber denied the request- her tree was perfect the way it was.

Amber leaned against the trunk and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Finally, she couldn't take the silence anymore.

Amber released Tyrunt from his Pokeball.

Similar to our T-Rex, Tyrunt was a Dragon/Rock Type with craggy brown skin like leather and teeth that could rip through steel bars.

Tyrunt was a rarity not only around these parts, but anywhere. As an extinct species, it was hard to come by, as it could only be caught when cloned from a fossil. A rich woman once brought her Tyrantrum to the ranch, and it had such a good time she donated an egg to the Ranch. An egg worth thousands of Poke. Not that ber would sell it for anything. She loved her Tyrunt too much.

"Runt?" Tyrunt asked. Amber just sniffled, so Tyrunt caught on and snuggled close to Amber.

"I hate them sometimes." Amber muttered. "Braedon is probably the only one at school who likes me for longer than it takes to do their homework, and they act like he's somehow below us."

Tyrunt grunted in agreement.

Amber snuggled closer to him. "And now they're not letting me go on the Journey. How fair is that?"

"Who says you can't go on a journey?"

Amber looked up. "Hi auntie."

"Can I sit?" Aunt Lynn asked. Amber just nodded slowly.

Aunt Lynn sat down next to her, on the opposite side of Tyrunt. "Amber." she said. "We don't hate your friend."

"Best friend." Amber corrected stubbornly. "And it doesn't matter. You still don't want me to go."

Aunt Lynn pursed her lips. "We do. We just don't want you hurt."

"Braedon won't hurt me." Amber said resolutely. That was true- if anything, Braedon protected her. He was the one who found time between his classes and formidable stacks of homework to steal from the snobby rich kids that made fun of Amber for her upbringing and the fact she was their on a scholarship. "And Professor Sycamore wouldn't of chose him if he wasn't a good student."

Aunt Lynn nodded. "I know that. Which is why your uncle and I are agreeing to let you go."

Amber's eyes widened. "Seriously?" she exclaimed. Tyrunt jumped in the air, over Amber, and licked and Lynn.

"Get off! Gaw! Pokemon slobber!" Aunt Lynn pushed Tyrunt off. The Pokemon grinned and rolled over.

"Did you just roll over?" Amber asked him, overjoyed. "What are you, a Poochyena?"

"Tyrunt!" Tyrunt cried happily.

Amber couldn't agree more.

* * *

Braedon sighed as he waited for his dad's assistant, Mitzuki, to connect him to his father.

Don't be busy. Braedon prayed. C'mon, pick up the damn phone.

"Braedon?" Michael Lovette said over the phone. "Why are you calling? What trouble are you in now?"

"None, sir." Braedon said quickly. "I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that I got accepted into The Prodigy Program-"

"So? Was their ever any doubt?" Michael praised him. But he sounded more angry than prideful. "Listen, son. I don't have time for this. Can we talk later? I have to go."

Braedon nodded, then realized that he couldn't see that. "Yes sir."

"Then goodbye Braedon. Congratulations." And without a further word, he hung up.

Braedon felt like crying. Here he was, getting the chance of a lifetime, and his dad didn't even care. It was so infuriating.

The whole reason Braedon had signed up was to get his attention. That's why Braedon did everything- that's why he stole things, why he got good grades, why he did his best and worst at school. Because he wanted his dad to take the time to acknowledge him fir once. But lately, he was getting acknowledged even less.

Fuck him. Braedon thought. I don't need him.

But he did. That was, for better or for worse, his only father.

Bradon started to cry.

* * *

Argent was done with this battle.

"Shadow Ball." Argent said boredly.

Honedge, a Steel/Ghost type Pokemon that resembles a sword with a long blue tassel, created a swirling ball of violet energy and shot it at his opponent.

"Dodge." the computerized voice intoned. The Murkrow moved like a Bullet Seed, dodging the attack effortlessly.

"Metal Sound, then Shadow Ball." Argent commanded. Honedge began to shake like a tuning fork, emitting a sound that pierced Murkrow's ears, lowering it's Special Defense. Honedge then shot another ball of shadowy energy at Murkrow, who was still disoriented from the previous attack. The Shadow Ball hit him square in the chest, knocking him across the field.

The second Murkrow fainted, it disappeared. So did the field, snd Argent was left standing in a plain white room with nothing but a door.

The Virtualization room was Argent's father's design, one of his many innovations. Everything in the room, with the exception of Argent and Honedge, was an illusion created by the most cutting edge technology.

Only the best for his son, Father had always said.

"Argent?" a shy voice said.

"Come in Lucille." Argent instructed her. The girl, a mousy brunette, entered the room, leaving the door open behind her.

"I've got the files you smasked for, sir." Lucille said. After working for his father for so long, she was used to calling the seventeen year old "sir". "Here they are."

She handed him his Holocaster, a device that projected holograms and worked similar to a phone.

Argent pressed the button at the botton of the device. Two images appeared, one of a tan blonde girl with golden rimmed glasses and the other of a boy with unruly indigo hair and bright blue eyes.

"Amber Dupont, age sixteen." the machine intoned. Unlike the Virtualization room's voice, this voice was a pleasant female voice. "Trainer Level Three. Braedon Lovette, Trainer Level Three." The device then began to tell him about them- their lives, their Pokemon, their grades. Everything important.

"So..." Argent mused. "These are the other applicants."

"What do you think of them, ?" Lucille asked.

"They're adequate." Argent said. "So long as they pull their wait and don't get in my way, we'll be fine."

Argent instructed Lucille to set up the Virtualization field again. He had training to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story has the same villains as my other story, Pokemon Alliance. The two will intersect and feature parts of the other. So go read that if you haven't already.  
> Also, Amber is based loosely off of Yellow from Pokespe. If you haven't read the Pokemon Special Manga, do it. It's worth your time.  
> So how do you like Amber, Argent, and Braedon so far? Tell me in your reviews/comments.


	2. The Start Of a Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our Heroes leave for their adventure and finally meet Sycamore!

_**Three Months Later** _

Taurus wrangling was by far Amber's favorite chore.

"Stone Edge!" Amber yelled, throwing Tyrunt's Pokeball from the back of her Taurus.

Tyrunt landed yards in front of the the herd and opened its jaw. Jagged grey stones erupted from the ground, forcing the lead Taurus to swerve, bringing the herd with him. But the stones kept appearing in front of the Taurus until their was a circle surrounding them, closing them in.

"Ee-yah!" She yelled just for fun. She had been working on that move for a month, and they had finally accomplished it!

"Nice moves, shorty!"

Amber looked down. Running toward her, out of breath, was Braedon.

"Brae!" Amber slid down from Taurus and ran to meet him.

They hugged. "What're you doing here?" Amber asked.

"What was that all about?" Braedon breathlessly asked at the same time.

"You first." Amber said.

Braedon grinned wildly. "I wanted to surprise you. So my dad let me get take a plane to Vaniville instead of Lumoise, then I walked here. This is our journey. We should start it together."

Amber couldn't help but look down. That was one of the sweetest things she had ever heard.

"Now, are you gonna tell me what you're doing?"

Amber's eyes widened. "Oh no!" she cried. "I forgot about Taurus! Help me!"

Amber fished some Pokeballs out of her backpack and handed them to Braedon. They ran to the Taurus and returned them all.

"Normally we let them run free." Amber explained to Braedon once they finished. "But today is their monthly check up. So I had to round them up and return them so they can see the vet today."

"Nice. So, any other chores I can help with?"

Amber led him through her daily routine. She laughed when they went to change the bird feeders and he fell off of the ladder when a Fletchinder pecked him. He returned the favor when she got spit on by a Numel that didn't want to eat it's breakfast.

All in all, it was a good morning.

Amber led Braedon inside, realizing as she did that her best friend was going to meet her parents and brother. Crap.

Amber pulled him aside when they reached the door. "Okay. I need to tell you something. My parents... They don't exactly... I'm not sure how to say this. They don't really, um-"

"Like me?" Braedon asked. She nodded. "Well, that's hardly fair. They've met me twice."

The first time was on family visit day at their school, in which Braedon stole her uncle's wallet and filled it with pictures of himself before returning it. The second time was when both of them had been called into the office because Braedon filled Nicole Richardson's locker Jelly after she pulled Amber's shorts down in gym. Needless to say, they didn't exactly view Braedon as a good influence on their niece.

"It doesn't matter." Amber said frantically. "The point is that they hate you! If you do anything- anything at all- they might not let me go."

Braedon rolled his eyes. "Amber, you leave today. They can't possibly-"

"Let's not chance it." Amber interrupted. "Promise me you'll be good."

He did a salut. "Scout's honor."

"You were a Boy scout?" Amber asked.

"Yeah. I got kicked out for stealing my scout leader's clothes one day. ." Braedon shuddered. "I regret it now. He looked terrible naked."

Amber laughed, unsure of whether or not he was telling the truth, and opened the door.

Inside, Aunt Lynn was cooking lunch. "Amber! You're back! How did the Taurus wrangling go?" She stepped into the living room.

"Alright." Amber answered. "Braedon helped me a little."

"Braedon?" She asked. Braedon stepped inside. "Oh! You have a guest. What a pleasant surprise!" She walked back into the kitchen.

Braedon smiled at Amber and mouthed "Taurus Shit." Amber covered her mouth to hide her giggles.

Amber led Braedon on a tour of the house, showing him her room ("Seriously? That's a lot of pictures. Do you even have a wall?"), her parents room ("Look! It's where you were made!"), Jeremy's room ("Wow. This place smells worse than the rest of the house. How is that possible?"), and the rest of the house. By the time they were done, it was lunch time.

Aunt Lynn laid sandwiches down on a plate for the two, smiling extra wide as she put down Braedon's.

Right as she set down Amber's plate, Uncle Jim walked in. "Sweetie, is Dinner ready yet?"

He walked into the kitchen and did a double take when he saw Braedon.

"Look who decided to join us!" Aunt Lynn said in an overly cheery voice. "Amber's friend Braedon."

Braedon grinned at him. "I'm glad I did. These sandwiches are spectacular."

Amber kicked him, but he didn't react.

Uncle Jim sat down next to Amber. "I bet they are. My wife puts her heart and soul into making them."

"Dad, they're sandwiches, not famous artwork." Jeremy said as he sauntered in then sat down, pointedly ignoring Braedon. Aunt Lynn must have got to him while he was doing his chores and told him to be civil.

Braedon gave Jeremy his most serious look, then leaned in close. "Food is art." He whispered.

Jeremy jumped about a foot in the air.

Amber mentally face palmed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The route to Vaniville Town was devoid of Pokemon, (not counting domesticated 'Mons) which made Amber nervous. She wasn't used to not being surrounded by Pokemon or People. But now she was alone, except for Braedon, Tyrunt , and Braedon's partner Sableye.

Her parents had cried when she got out of the car and insisted on hugging her over and over again. Even Jeremy hugged her once.

And now here they were. Walking to Vaniville, where they would meet Argent and Professor Sycamore.

"So," Braedon said after a few seconds of silence. Amber knew that he hated silence. "Wanna battle?"

Amber raised an eyebrow. "In the middle of Route 23?"

Braedon nodded, then grabbed her arm and pulled her off the path to a clearing. "C'mon! Please?"

Amber couldn't say no to that face.

So here they were, Sableye vs. Tyrunt, in a fierce battle of wits.

"Ha! Can't hit me, can you?" Braedon spit out his tongue as Sableye used Shadow Sneak to turn into a shadow just as Tyrunt used Stomp to crush Sableye. The Sableye appeared behind him, but Tyrunt turned around and stomped again. The two began to repeat the same moves- Sableye turning into a shadow before Tyrunt could stomp him, Tyrunt Stomping before Sableye could rise and attack.

Amber groaned. "I'm done with this!" She declared. "Circle Stone Edge, Tyrunt!"

A circle of giant stones appeared around Tyrunt, launching Sableye into the air. "Sable!" Sableye cried as he fell.

"Now, Ancient Power!" Amber cried. The stones broke into pieces and began to shoot towards Sableye.

"Shadow Sneak, then Scratch!" Braedon yelled. Sableye turned into a shadow right before the rocks hit, then slivered towards Tyrunt."

"Dodge, then bite!" Amber yelled. Tyrunt jumped to the side as Sableye jumped into the air and turned back into his solid form, narrowly missing Sableye's claws. Tyrunt then turned and bit Sableye on the arm.

"Sableye!" Braedon cried. "Night Shade!"

The gems Sableye used for eyes turned black. Out of his free hand he shot a beam of black light at Tyrunt, hitting him square in the eyes. Tyrunt let go and stumbled back.

"Now, Zen Headbutt!" Braedon yelled. Sableye whole body became shrouded in a pink aura as he rammed into Tyrunt.

"Ty!" Tyrunt screamed as he flew backwards. He didn't get up.

"Yeah!" Braedon yelled. He grabbed Sableye and squeezed him tightly. "

Amber returned Tyrunt. "Nice job. "

Braedon put an arm around her. "Don't worry too much about it. You'll beat me next time."

"I'm not-"

"Sure you're not." Braedon grinned. "Race you to Vaniville." And with that, he took off.

"Wait!" Amber yelled after him. She ran to catch up to the boy. "Cheater!"

* * *

Whatever Argent had been expecting, Amber and braedon weren't it.

It didn't help that when he met them they were tired and sweaty from running the whole way there.

"You...Must be Argent." the boy said, panting. "I'm...Braedon."

"Am...Ber." Amber gasped. She at least seemed to be embarrassed, from the way she was avoiding Argent's eye. "Nice to... Meet you."

Argent didn't want to, but he dutifully shook the delinquents hands. They were outside the Pokemon Center, waiting for Professor Sycamore.

"Where's the Professor?" Braedon asked, finally catching his breath. "Is he late?"

"It would appear so." Argent said boredly. "We will have to wait."

He inspected the duo. The girl was a blonde, her hair in a ponytail, with a yellow blouse and jeans tucked into cowboy boots. The boy wore a sleeveless hoodie over a violet t-shirt, jeans, and high tops.

"That's okay." Braedon said. "We can use the time to get to know each other."

Amber stared at the ground. "Sure, Braedon."

Braedon grinned. "Okay. Well, I'm Braedon, and this is my best friend Amber. I'm a Pisces who specializes in Dark Types."

Argent raised an eyebrow. "I don't see what your birthsign has to do with anything, but I too specialize in a Type. I specialize in Steel Types." Argent really didn't feel like talking to them, but he figured that he had to at least try to be civil. They were going to spend the next year in each others company. "I find them the most dependable of the types."

"Amber uses any type." Braedon said, slinging an arm around her. "She just can't commit to one."

Argent looked at the girl, who was rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "Why doesn't she speak for herself?"

Amber turned bright red. "I-uh- I'm sorry- I just-"

She was saved by the arrival of Professor Sycamore, who decided then to show up.

Argent nearly gasped. The man was, in a word, stunning. Argent had seen pictures before, but they didn't do him justice.

"You must be my new victims- I mean proteges." He said, chuckling at his own joke.

All three of them bowed.

"Such polite children!" Sycamore exclaimed. "You don't see that everyday. Now, down to business. I trust you've all read the letters I sent you?"

They all nodded. "Nice, nice. Let's go sit down in the Center, and I'll go over what I want from you."

Professor Sycamore led them inside, pausing only to wink nurse Joy, who rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

Sycamore led them to a booth in the center and sat down. "Okay. So you all know what you have to do. Catch and catalog every Pokemon originally native to Kalos. That's approximately 112 Pokemon. Each of you were selected because you have talents beyond that of a normal trainer."

Argent looked at Amber and Braedon _. "Talent beyond that of a normal trainer?" These two?_

"So, to aid you in your goal, I'm entrusting you with these."

He put his brief case on the table and opened it. Inside were three rectangular devices, each with a a Pokeball design in the center.

"Thank you," Argent said. "But I have a Pokedex."

"You don't have this one." Sycamore said. "These are the latest models. Or prototypes of them, rather. Given to me by Cassius himself, these allow for trading over long distances, communication via the Holocaster network, twenty-four seven internet access, and of course the regular features of a Pokedex. They also allow you to send Pokemon straight to locations when caught, so you don't have to go to the Pokemon Center to send me your Pokemon. "

Braedon whistled. "And their ours?"

He nodded. "Cassius needs someone to test out his new trading system. Something about it being more comfortable for the Pokemon, I'm not sure. He doesn't like to talk much. I usually go through his assistant, but she wasn't available at the time. In fact..."

"What's wrong, Professor?" Amber asked, speaking up for the first time.

"Nothing..." he said. "It's just that... Cassius' assistant was supposed to be here to help me present these."

"Is that why you were late?" Argent asked. "To look for her?"

Sycamore nodded. "After this, I'm going to call her. Perhaps she got lost... She's always been a bit ditzy. Oh well. No use worrying over it now. Why don't you three try out your new Pokedexes?"

Not entirely reassured, Argent took the Pokedex out of the case anyway. It certainly looked better than his own model. He pressed the button in the center and a holographic question mark appeared.

_"No Pokemon available on device. Sixteen Pokemon in the immediate vicinity."_

"Cool!" Braedon said. He grabbed one and pulled a Pokeball from his belt. He scanned it.

_"Sableye, The Darkness Pokemon. Sableye hides in the darkness of caves. Its diet of gems has transformed its eyes into gemstones. Level 22. Moves known: Shadow Sneak, Scratch, Zen Headbutt, and Mean Look. Ability:Prankster."_

"Prankster?" Argent muttered. "That's rare for a Sableye."

Braedon nodded. "Yeah. I actually-"

A girl ran into the Pokemon Center, looking exhausted and worse for wear.

"Marina!" Sycamore yelled, standing up. "What happened?"

The girl stumbled over to him. "My Pokemon..."

"Marina, what happened to your Pokemon?" Sycamore asked her. He grabbed her shoulders.

"My Pokemon..." she whispered. "He stole them..."

Marina fainted. **  
**


	3. The Hallowed Church

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N : Still kinda sad I didn't manage to work a battle into this one. Oh well.
> 
> About the part involving which pokemon originate from Kalos, I'm using Pokemon that from other gens, and saying that even though they were created before gen six, they come from Kalos originally and migrated to those regions. For example, Zoroa originates from Black and White, which take place in Unova, but I'm saying it comes from Kalos (which makes more sense anyway, since they can be found in the wild in Kalos but can only be given to you in unova)
> 
> Why am I doing this? Because 60+ Pokemon will not be a challenge for our heroes. 112 is a nice, challenging number.
> 
> So... I wonder who will stop Joseph? Anybody figure it out?
> 
> (SPOILER!) It's revealed in my other story. So read that one if you want to know more about the villains (though everything will be revealed about them in this story too. Just not yet.)
> 
> So, how do my story so far? Tell me how much you hate it in the your review!

For some reason, the police found it necessary to question Everyone, including Amber.

Amber, the girl who would from now on be remembered in that one civilian who was so nervous that she recited everything she did that day in detail, before the cop started the questioning.

"I doubt that they'll remember you." Braedon said patiently after she told him about what happened and voiced her concern. "They have way more important things to do than gossip about you. Besides, it's over now. Pass me some chips."

Amber held the bag up so Braedon, who was sitting in the bunk above her, could get some. Amber, Braedon, and a reluctant Argent ("I don't understand how people sleep on these bunks. It's like they're made of bricks.") were staying in the dorms provided to them by the Pokemon Center. Technically, the rules stated that they were supposed to be camping out- this was the compromise they reached with Argent, who was vehemently opposed to "sleeping outside like a dirty street rat", as he put it. So here they were.

"I guess you're right." Amber muttered. "I'm still pretty embarrassed..."

"Don't be." Braedon reassured her. "I'm sure you're not the first or last person to be nervous in front of the police."

Amber knew she was being silly. But she couldn't help it- it was just who she was. "Sorry."

Braedon snorted. "Stop apologizing, you're fine. "

"I guess." she said. "Why don't we-"

"Got it!" Braedon yelled, scaring Amber so she fell out of bed. "Oops. Sorry. But I-"

"Will you be quiet?" Argent grumbled from across the room. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Oh, you're up? Good." Braedon said. "Get over here." Breadon jumped down from his bunk and slid next to Amber.

Argent put his head under the covers.

"Fine then, grumpy gus."

"My name is not-what are you doing?" Argent cried as Braedon sat down at the foot of his bed, followed by an apologetic Amber.

"You guys need to hear this." Braedon said. He pulled out his laptop and opened it. He grinned at Amber.

Oh no."What did you do?" Amber asked. She didn't have to say "this time", that was implied by her tone.

"I sent Kecleon to follow Sycamore and Marina." Braedon admitted.

Argent sat up. "You did what!?" he snapped. "Do you want us to be kicked out of the program?"

"Relax." Braedon said calmly. "Kecleon can turn invisible. Camouflage and all that jazz."

"This was still very irresponsible of-"

"Why?" Amber interrupted.

Braedon grinned. "I'm getting to that. Anyway, I attached a small camera-"

"Where'd you get a camera?" Argent asked.

"I had one just in case of an emergency ." Braedon said casually.

"So you had a small camera lying around 'just in case'?"

"Of course." Braedon replied. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I sent Kecleon, armed with a small camera, to spy on Sycamore."

"Again, why?" Amber asked, a worried edge in her voice.

"Yes, please tell us why you risked our shot at any scholarship in the country." Argent snapped.

Braedon looked at him. "Ya know, pessimism is a sign of premature aging."

"Braedon..." Amber chided him.

"Fine. I'm sorry." he rolled his eyes. "Now where was I?"

"I believe you were at the part where you explain why you did this."

"Oh yeah!" Braedon cried. "Right. I wanted to know who attacked her. The police refused to tell me."

"Well of course they did." Argent said. "It's none of our concern."

Braedon rolled his eyes. "Arceus, your boring. Anyway, let's listen. I'll back up the feed by about five minutes..."

The screen displayed a door.

"He must be stuck outside the room they're staying in." Braedon muttered. "Oh well. We should still be able to hear. Every be quiet! No breathing!" Braedon unpaused the video.

"...And you're sure he said that he was with Team Hallow? Not the Hallowed Church?" Professor Sycamore said.

"Team Hallow?" Amber mouthed. Braedon shrugged.

"Yes, that's what he said. Why? Who are they, professor?" the girl, Marina, said.

"I'm not sure my dear." he said. "But they've been attacking people all over Kalos. I'm just glad you're not hurt."

"But my Pokemon were stolen!" Marina cried.

"Hmm. Yes, but the man who took them has been spotted near Lumoise. Perhaps someone will catch him, then you'll get them back. It's all we can hope for."

There was a barely audible sniffle. "Y-you're right, Professor. I shouldn't stop hoping. But... I wish I knew why he chose me specifically."

"I don't know." Sycamore said. "But there's no use worrying about it now. You should get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow."

The rest of the video was mostly silent, besides a few exchanges like "Do you know where my suitcase is?" and "Right here, Professor."

Braedon closed the laptop. "Kecleon should be back soon." he said. "But that's beside the point. Do either of you know a Team Hallow?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Wait." Amber said. She pulled out her new Pokedex, the one Professor Sycamore gave her. "Might as well put this to good use. Professor Sycamore said it works like a Holocaster, so... Pokedex, search for Team Hallow."

A holographic pad showed up above the Pokedex. It displayed text saying that their were zero results for her search.

"Try The Hallowed Church." Argent suggested, sitting up.

Amber complied, then clicked on the first result to show up.

A hologram of a man Amber recognized from the news as Professor Rowan appeared. "The Hallowed Church is a religious group that was thought to be extinct by 17192." he said. "But over the past two years, new adherents have revived the seemingly dead religion."

"Is that all?" Braedon asked.

Amber nodded. "Sorry Brae. Looks like your mystery is gonna stay that way- a mystery."

Argent nodded. "Yes. And now that we've successfully wasted twenty minutes, I suggest we all go to bed. Which means getting off of my bed."

"Whatever." Braedon and Argent got up and walked over to their bunks. Amber and Braedon stayed up to wait for Kecleon, who arrived safely, though late ("Did you stop to steal food?" Braedon said. "Well, he is your Pokemon" Amber replied.). They went to bed, though Amber didn't sleep much. She was still caught up in all that happened that day.

 _I hope that every day of my journey isn't this eventful._  Amber thought. But a traitorous part of her secretly wished for the contrary.

* * *

Amber was the first to wake the next day. After all, she had grown up on a ranch where chores were started before the sun was up and ended right as the sun set.

Amber started the day by calling Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jim. She described all that had happened the previous day, wisely omitting the part where Braedon helped them spy on Professor Sycamore.

"You were questioned? By the police?" Uncle Jim covered his mouth. "Amber? Are you alright? Why would they question you?"

"I'm fine." She insisted. "They just wanted to know if I saw anything suspicious on the way here."

Uncle Jim still looked worried. "They didn't scare you, did they?"

"What?" Amber cried. "N-no! I'm fine."

Aunt Lynn chuckled. "Relax, Jim. The girl's a Dupont. We're bred to be strong."

Uncle Jim didn't look completely convinced, but he still managed a small smile. "You're right, of course. I'm sure she's fine."

Amber let told them she had to go, not because she did, but because they were embarrassing her a little.

Braedon laughed as soon as she hung up her Holocaster. "Amber, it's okay," He, of course, saw right through her excuse. "I know you're not some fragile flower. You wrangle Snorlax's."

"It was a Munchlax, and it was one time, Braedon."

Braedon just smiled.

* * *

Monty Erikson was a simple man. He owned a pawn shop in a small town, for Pete's sake. No wife, one kid, one Pokemon (a Purrloin). He lived in a simple one two bedroom apartment, in a side of town that was neither the best or the worst the small town had to offer.

Nothing really exciting happened to him, barring a single incident where a bike pawned was actually stolen from a ten year old. Which was resolved in a few days.

So imagine his surprise when he found his shop vandalized, the glass broken and only a lawn mower missing.

Now imagine how loud his screscream was when he saw said lawnmower, now orange and with eyes and a mouth, trying to eat the wires out of his old t.v.

"Ahh!" he yelled, falling backwards. Still on his back, he began to inch away from the... Thing with his elbows.

"Ro!" the orange Pokemon (for what else could it be?) yelled, baring it's mower like teeth.

Monty fainted.


	4. Drivin' Amber Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The main characters make a shoking discovery.

The scream was just one more thing to add onto the list of reasons why the rest of their morning was eventful.

First, Argent had woken up and found Sableye lying in his suitcase, drooling on all his clothes. After a fight between Braedon and Argent where Braedon explained that Sableye liked small, dark, cramped spaces and Argent shouted that now his favorite jacket was ruined, and they all headed down to breakfast. Braedon then thought it was a good idea to steal Argent's Holocaster and change each of the contacts to random words in Hoennian. This sparked another argument, which would have ended with a Pokemon battle but instead ended with them kicked out for making a ruckus. Then, Amber had to listen to them bicker all the way to Route one, helpless to stop the two.

So the scream was not out of place at all.

"C'mon!" Braedon yelled, leading them toward the sound of the scream.

A girl was on the ground, her clothes askew and her glasses falling off.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Braedon asked her. "What's wrong?"

The girl covered her face. "I-I don't know!" she cried. "I was just watering my spice garden and- well look!"

The girl's garden was, for lack of a better word, trashed. Plants were ripped to shreds and scattered about, their roots visible for everyone to see.

"It came out of nowhere!" she cried! "A giant orange lawnmower! It ran over my garden and fled!"

"Lawnmower?" Braedon sweat dropped. "A-are you sure?"

She nodded, still sobbing.

Amber looked at them, then pulled out her Pokedex. She began to scroll through it. After a few seconds, she stopped and held it up to Braedon. He grabbed the Pokedex, understanding immediately that she wanted to show the woman but was too timid. Braedon showed it to the woman. It displayed a orange pokemon that resembled a spinning top with sparks coming off his body. "Is this it?" he asked.

"N-no, but it's similar to that." she sobbed. "It h-had the same eyes and color."

Argent looked at the Pokedex. "Now it makes sense. That's Rotom."

"R-Rotom?"

Argent nodded. "It's a Pokemon that can turn posses electrical things, like fridges and washers. It must be possessing your lawnmower. They're extremely rare worldwide."

"My lawnmower?" she snapped. "No! I would never use such a crude instrument on my garden!"

Argent recoiled. "Uh... Of course not. How foolish of me."

"So... If you're alright," Braedon said. "We'll be going now."

The girl nodded, turning back to the wreck that was her precious garden.

Amber, Braedon, and Argent started walking away. "Well, that was weird." Braedon said as soon as they were out of earshot. "I hope that woman isn't too traumatized." he said with a giggle.

"Braedon, it's not funny!" Amber slapped him on the arm. "She probably worked really hard on that garden."

Argent cleared his throat.

"What?" Braedon asked.

Argent took out a his Pokedex. "This is a list of all the Pokemon we have to catch. And if I'm not mistaken... Ah, here we are. Rotom is on the list."

Braedon grinned, and Amber smiled back. She knew that grin. "And Rotom's are rare too. It would be a shame to let this one go."

"So... We're going to catch it?" Amber asked Braedon.

He nodded. "Why not?" he said. "It makes sense."

Argent switched to the map feature on his Pokedex. "The town's not to big, so there's not too much ground to cover." he said. "We can finish this by today. We know it's nearby, so-"

"So it's probably getting away!" Braedon exclaimed. He grabbed Amber's arm and drug her along. "We have to go!"

"Wait!" Argent yelled. "We need to plan-"

"No time!" Braedon yelled. Amber almost laughed at Argent's expression as he ran to keep up with them.

After stopping to ask the girl which direction the Rotom went, the trio kept running down the streets of Vaniville Town. Had it been a different day, one where Amber wasn't as distracted, she would've appreciated a the small town's aesthetic. The houses were all similar, small and made of red brick, each with a garden of some sort. Soon the neighborhood turned into a string of shops.

"Have you seen this Pokemon?" they asked several people before actually getting a response.

"Yeah!" a man in his late forties yelled. "That damn thing wrecked my shop this morning! It ate the wires out of my t.v."

"Have you seen it recently?" Argent asked.

The man shook his head. "No." he answered.

"Ugh!" Braedon groaned after the man left. "We'll never find it!"

"We would make a plan!" Argent snapped. "Running after it hasn't worked. We need to figure out where it's going."

"That shouldn't be too hard." Amber said. "We know it likes to eat wires, and that it needs appliances."

"So we just go to places that have those things." Braedon said, snapping his fingers.

"So every place, then." Argent said.

Amber shook her head. "No. Rotom would be attracted to a place with a lot of appliances. One that's close by."

Argent pulled out his map and surveyed it. "The nearest stores fitting those requirements are... Let me see... Joe's Hardware that way." he pointed towards the street on his left. "Or Maku's Car dealership down Pryor Street."

"I think it's the Car Dealership." Braedon said with an edge in his voice. "Look!"

Braedon pointed down the street. Barreling towards them was an huge orange truck with giant eyes and an even bigger mouth.

"Move!" Argent yelled. He grabbed Braedon and Amber and pulled them out if the street as the truck zoomed past them.

"Ro!" It yelled joyously, as if almost running over three kids was reason to celebrate.

"Shit!" Braedon cursed. "How the hell are we gonna catch him now?"

Amber pulled a Pokeball out of her bag."I have an idea."

Braedon's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Are you serious?"

No. Amber thought. But she felt something welling up inside her, the same something that filled her when her parents were badmouthing Braedon. Passion. She wanted to do this. "Go, Tauros!"

Tauros appeared in a flash of white light. "Taur!"

"C'mon boy, let's go." Amber climbed on his back.

"What are you- ahh!" Argent fell on his behind when Amber took off.

Amber raced after Rotom, feeling the familiar sting of wind in her eyes. She was used to it. This was her playing field. She had spent countless hours of her life doing Riding Tauros and Stantler and other Pokemon who lived at her ranch. Amber could do this.

Amber saw the world blur beside her and she held on to Tauros's horns, using them to steer Tauros.

The Rotom turned a street corner and Amber leaned to the left, bringing her Pokemon with her. The two were quickly closing the gap between themselves and the Rotom.

"C'mon Tauros," Amber said. "A little closer..."

"Tauros!" he shouted. The Pokemon began to speed up, and Amber could almost feel the effort he was putting in.

"Yes!" Amber cried. She pulled out a pokeball with one hand and"Go, Tyrunt! Circle Stone Edge!"

Tyrunt appeared above her, jaw open. A ring of giant grey stones appeared around them.

Rotom stopped suddenly, turning to the side and drifting to avoid a collision.

"Now we got you!" Amber declared. Tyrunt landed next to her.

"Runt!" he agreed.

But Rotom wasn't out of tricks yet.

Suddenly the Orange skin began to peel off like putty wrapped around the car, until it reformed above the truck as an orange spinning top, Rotom's original form. It started to fly away.

"Oh no you don't!" Amber said. "Pursuit, Tauros!"

Tauros jumped into the air and landed on a stone. It then jumped off of the stone into the air above Rotom and headbutted into the a stone.

"Now, Take Down!"

Tauros charged forward eagerly. Rotom peeled itself off of the stone and dodged to the side.

"Ro Ro!" it cackled as Tauros hit the rock. It's horns cracked the surface and became lodged in it.

"Taur!" Tauros yelled, pulling against the rock.

It then let out a jolt of electricity, shocking Tauros. He writhed in pain.

"Tauros!" Amber yelled. That hit looked critical.

Wait... A critical hit!

"Tauros!" Amber yelled. "Use that extra strength to lift that stone!"

"Taur-" Tauros gritted it's teeth and put all it's strength into it's back legs. "-os!" it cried as it lifted the boulder and turned around to face Rotom.

Rotom cowered in fear. "...Ro!"

"Do you give up?" Amber asked, crossing her arms. "Or do I tell Tauros to let go?"

* * *

 

"...and then I caught him, I guess." Amber said, rubbing her arm.

Braedon raised an eyebrow. "Let me make sure I got this right." he said. "After you chased down the Rotom on Tauros, you used your wrangling skills to catch it. Then you proceeded to rip a Rock from the ground and used it to scare Rotom into submission?"

Of course. He thought she was bragging, or lying. It was too fantastical of a story to believe anyway. She should just tell him that-

"That. Is. So. Cool!" Braedon said.

Sycamore nodded. "It is!" he cried. "Your first capture in the program, and it's Rotom. One powerful enough to possess a truck."

Even Argent nodded. "It's somewhat impressive."

"Somewhat?" Braedon said. "Dude, it's amazing!"

Amber hid her face. "I-it was nothing."

But none of them heard her.

"But I have a question." Professor Sycamore said.

"What is it, professor?"

"How did Tauros lift that boulder?"

Amber grinned sheepishly. "That's because his ability is Anger Point. When hit with a Critical move, his strength increases."

"Again, very cool." Braedon gushed.

Amber had never felt happier.

* * *

 

Gale really needed a drink.

After all, Joseph's mission to steal the Pokedexes from that scientist girl was not only unsuccessful, but it was a train wreck. Not only did he let her get away, he also let slip their name, and was still on the run.

This day couldn't get any worse, could it?

"Mistress, Mulan is here for you." a voice over the intercom said.

She sighed. Must be more bad news. "Send her in."

Mulan skipped inside Gale's office merrily, ignoring Gale's eyeroll at her behavior. Much like Masa, Mulan enjoyed being whimsical.

"Mistress." Mulan gave an exaggerated bow. "How do you do?"

"I'm fine." Gale said irritably. "Get to the point."

"It's about Joseph." Mulan said. "As you know, he is still on the run. I know you decided to let him go without punishment-"

"I decided nothing. Masa is in charge of Joseph." Gale snapped. "Get to the point."

"And that you forbid us with communicating with him, but I couldn't help myself."

Gale rubbed her temples. Her underlings would be the death of her."What did you do?"

Mulan held up her hands defensively. "I just wanted to know how he is! But that's not important. What is important is what he told me."

"And what was that? It had better be good."

Mulan gulped. "He uh, he said that the Pokedexes weren't with the girl."

"Then where are they?" Gale demanded.

Mulan smiled. "Well, I did a little reseatch-"

Gale snorted. "You, research?"

"Hey! I can do that kind of stuff to!" Mulan said sourly. "Anyway, I did some research- are you snickering? Ya know, that's not very nice."

Gale covered her mouth. "Fine." she let out one last chuckle. Two. "Go on."

"And it turns out the Pokedexes were given to three students as part of an scholarship program."

Mulan pulled out a Holocaster and switched it on. Three images appeared under the headline "Three students win acceptance into major program."

"Is this them?" Gale asked. Mulan nodded. "Good. Then you'll be the one to get me those Pokedexes. And a some wine. You know what I like." Gale waved her away.

"With pleasure, Head Priest." Mulan said with another bow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is the Hallowed Church planning? Who is Gale? Find out next week! Jk, I'm not revealing so much too soon.
> 
> I really like the title of this chapter. Sounds a lot like Drivin' Miss Daisy.
> 
> What I don't like is Rotom. Or at least I used to dislike it. After writing a fun chapter about the thing, I'm a little more partial to it. I don't really have a reason why I used to dislike it, I kind of just did. Sinnoh Pokemon in general were just meh to me, with the exceptions of Lucario, Drapion, the legendaries and a few others.
> 
> So, that's it. Review please?


	5. Braedon vs. Argent

By the second time, Amber had already gotten tired of reciting the story.

The first time was stressful enough. Amber hated being the center of attention for too long. What if she messed up and embarrassed herself? What if she stuttered or looked stupid? So many things could go wrong.

The first time wasn't too bad. She had Braedon there, for one. The second time she told the story was for her family via Holocaster, which was taxing in that she had to water it down and lie to them so she didn't worry them. They still saw right through her. By the time she was done, they had already considered sending her home. After talking them down, Amber was exhausted.

So of course that was when Officer Jenny arrived, right as she hung up with her parents.

Now she had to speak to the authorities, and neither party was glad to see each other for the second time in as many days. But Amber knew they were coming, because a car had been stolen, so she was a little prepared. She even managed to wrap it up within an hour.

So by that afternoon, Amber was ready to take a nap that would make the Snorlax at her ranch proud.

But a nap would have to wait, because, according to Argent, they were on a schedule. After she bravely (stupidly) insisted to Braedon that she was fine, they left for Route 1, also known as the Vaniville Pathway, a natural sidewalk/nature preserve where Pokemon catching was not allowed. Which meant she had nothing to distract herself when Argent and Braedon inevitably started arguing.

All in all, Amber wasn't having the most pleasant of days.

The walk to Aquacorde town was short due to the lack of Pokemon.

The town itself, however, brought one word to mind: water.

Much like Cyperus Town, the location of their school, it was connected to a river. (In fact, it was built because people flocked to the river and decided to stay). Fountains dotted the city like checkmarks alongside the city, most with kids and some kind of water Pokemon playing in them.

And then their was the river itself. Split by a single river leading to Route 2, the river was the crown jewel of Aquacorde, kept clean by a dedicated team of cleaners with Qwilfish that ate all pollutants and Minccino's trained to swim in the water and pick up trash. Because of this, the Aquacorde river sparkled like a sapphire.

Amber thought it was a pity they were only staying there a day. The town was serene and beautiful.

"So I say we hurry up and heal our Pokemon so we can get to Route 2." Braedon said between bites of a granola bar. They were at the Pokemon Center after a day of exploring the lovely town and it's attractions. "No use to stay here long if we can leave by nightfall."

"Why?" Argent asked. "The only Pokemon on our list in that area are Scatterbug and Bunnelby. We can just go tomorrow and make it to the Pokemon Center on the outskirts of the Santalune Forest before nightfall of tomorrow."

Braedon snorted. "But then we won't be able to camp out!" Braedon declared. "Hey Am, remember that time we went camping on a field trip and Robby Sanchez was attacked by a Ziggagoon?"

Amber smiled. "And you put a puppet in his bed and he screamed like a Noivern." she reminisced.

Braedon looked at Argent. "What about you? Have any good camping stories?"

Argent coughed awkwardly. "I haven't had the opportunity to go camping, actually."

"Wait, for real?" Braedon asked. "How come?"

"I just think it's pointless." Argent said defensively. "The whole point of houses is to protect you from the elements. They have a practical purpose. If you were in the dark and had a flashlight, you'd use it . It's the same thing with camping. You have shelter, and yet you decide to ignore it."

"But we will need the shelter." Braedon argued. "We're not always gonna be near a Pokemon Center during our travels. Camping is necessary."

"But not today." Argent pointed out.

"You just don't want to go." Braedon said smugly. "Not because you deem it useless. But because you're too prissy to rough it."

Argent gritted his teeth so hard Amber could practically hear it. "You're wrong. I just don't want to."

"Then prove it." Braedon said. "Battle me. You win, and we go with your plan. I win, we go camping. Sound fair?"

"No." Argent said. "A battle with me would be grossly one sided."

"Yeah right." Braedon snapped. "I'm taking you camping whether you like it or not. So prepare to lose!"

Amber just sighed.

* * *

 

"Okay," Amber said. They were outside on the PC battlefield. Amber was acting as official referee, a job she took seriously. "This will be a one-on-one battle, League rules, no substitutions or items. First move goes to lowest level Pokemon. Trainers, please release your Pokemon!"

"Go, Kecleon!" Braedon yelled, throwing Kecleon's Pokeball.

"Kecleon!" it yelled. Resembling an Iguana, with a foot tongue to match, Kecleon came up to Braedon's waist. It was green, with yellow fin like appendages on it's head and a jagged red stripe going across it's stomach.

Argent's eyes narrowed. "That's not a Dark Type."

Braedon grinned. "I know, but Kecleon is so darn useful. Espionage. Stealimg. Sneaking around. Me and my buddy have got into a lot of trouble together."

"I bet you have." Argent muttered. He brought out his Pokedex and scanned Kecleon, even though he was familiar with the species. A hologram of Kecleon appeared above the Pokedex.

" _Kecleon, the Color Swap can freely change its body's color. The zigzag pattern on its belly doesn't change, however. Level 20. Moves Known: Feint Attack, Lick, Bind, and Ancient Power. Type: Normal. Ability: Color Change."_

 _Color Change._ Argent thought. T _hat's how it turns invisible. Braedon's probably going to try that in the battle. And I can't use Crafty Sheild, he doesn't have any status moves..._ Argent began to form counter strategies in his mind.

"Dude, are you gonna let out your Pokemon or what?" Braedon called across the field.

Argent shook his head to clear it. "Go, Klefki!"

Klefki materialized in a flash of light. Klefki, a keychain like Pokemon, held several keys on its ring.

"Nice." Braedon said appreciatively. He took out his Pokedex and scanned Klefki.

" _Klefki, The Key Ring Pokemon. These key collectors threaten any attackers by fiercely jingling their keys at them. Level 23. Moves Known: Fairy Lock, Fairy Wind, Metal Sound, and Spikes. Ability: Pranks_ ter."

Amber raised her arms. "Are both participants ready?" they both nodded. "Then... Begin!"

Braedon didn't waste a second. "Kecleon, Ancient Power!"

Jagged rocks materialized above Kecleon. They flew towards Klefki.

"Dodge!" Argent commanded. Klefki swerved to dodge each stone.

"Now! Disappear while they're distracted!" Braedon yelled.

That's what you're trying. Argent thought. "Klefki, look for a red stripe." he instructed. Klefki and Argent looked around.

But suddenly Klefki cried out. "Klef!"

"Too late!" Braedon declared. Kecleon's form appeared behind Klefki. It was holding Klefki up with it's tongue, constricting it's body tightly. "Too slow, Argent."

"I am not," Argent snapped, losing his composure. "You used a dirty tactic."

"It's perfectly legal." Braedon argued. "You just aren't willing to admit that you messed up. Kecleon, tighten your grip!"

"Ki!" Klefki screamed in pain.

"Klefki!" Argent yelled. "Spikes attack!"

Klefki began to glow. Suddenly, spikes made of rock jutted out of the ground, digging into Kecleon's feet. The Color Swap Pokemon's grip loosened and Klefki broke free of it's grip.

"Fairy Wind! Argent yelled.

Klefki's eyes turned pink and the air around Kecleon turned into a swirling pink vortex.

"Kecleon!" Braedon shouted, panic evident in his voice.

Kecleon was thrown high into the air. He landed on the ground in a heap.

"Kecleon, are you okay?" Braedon called out.

Kecleon slowly got up. "Kec..."

"Don't let up, Klefki! Fairy Wind once more!" Argent yelled.

"Dodge," Braedon yelled. "Then Feint Attack!"

Kecleon rushed forward, narrowly escaping the still forming vortex of pink wind. He then faked like he was jabbing to the left, then jabbed to the right when Klefki dodged in the same direction. Klefki flew across the field. Klefki collapsed to the ground, then floated back up.

"Shake it off." Argent called. "Metal Sound!" Klefki began to vibrate like a tuning fork, emitting a sound that would weaken Kecleon's special defense. Argent felt a piercing shiver go through him, like nails on a chalkboard. He saw Kecleon shiver too.

"Now use Fairy Wind!" Argent commanded.

"Counter with Ancient Power!" Braedon yelled desperately.

Kecleon launched a volley of rocks at Klefki right as a vortex of wond formed around it.

The rocks hit Klefki head on, while the vortex spit out Kecleon.

"Klefki!"

"Kecleon!"

Amber looked from one Pokemon to another. "Neither Pokemon is capable of fighting. This battle is a tie."

Argent returned Klefki. "You'll do better next time."

"You too." Braedon told Kecleon as he returned it. "But now, you deserve a rest."

Braedon and Argent met Amber halfway across the battlefield.

"Well? What now?" Braedon asked. "We tied. What do we do now?"

Argent sighed. "Try again?"

"Nah, I don't think so." Braedon said.

Argent crossed his arms. "Why not?" he asked.

Then Braedon surprised Argent by smiling. "That battle was pretty intense. I'm not up for another one." he yawned. "You did pretty well though."

"Of course." Argent said. "Why would you have expected any less?"

Braedon rolled his eyes. "Wow. Remind me to never shoot you a complement again. So tactless."

"That's like a Zorark calling a Sableye Dark." Argent retorted.

Amber tugged on Braedon's sleeve. "Uh, Brae?" he ignored her.

"I am totally polite!" Braedon argued.

"Guys?"

"You stole my toothbrush yesterday!"

"And I returned it. See, polite."

"Guys!" Amber said loudly.

Both boys looked at her.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to raise my voice but... It's going to rain."

She pointed upward. Sure enough, the clouds were overcast and gray.

"I guess we can't go camping." Argent said smugly.

"Shut up." Braedon balled his fists and walked towards the Pokemon Center.

"You know, this technically means I won."

Braedon put up his middle finger. "You know, this technically means you can suck it."

Argent shook his head. "Arceus, you're vulgar. And repulsive."

Braedon smiled. "And annoying. And a jerk. That's why I'm loved."

Argent just snorted and walked inside.

* * *

 

Vivillon couldn't take it anymore. Today had not been it's day.

First, it had awoken to find itself in a cage. To make matters worse (though at the time, Vivillon couldn't imagine anything worse than being in a cage), the cage kept moving up and down and shaking. Then the cage flipped over, causing Vivillon to flip and land on it's wing. It cried out when it felt a tear in it's wing. It's beautiful, rare wing, that all the other Pokemon of tge forest admired. How could Vivillon possibly show face after she escaped (and she would escape- or die trying) with a broken wing?

What had she done to deserve this? She wasn't mean or nasty. Sure, she acted vain sometimes, but that was because she had the talent and beauty to back it up. Vivillon certainly didn't put down others to build herself up. She didn't need to- she had wings.

So she hadn't, in her dogmatic opinion, deserved any of this.

At least the shaking stopped. Vivillon thought. And if she had thought further, she would have realized that it had stopped right when the cage flipped over and her wing broke, and if she had thought even further she would have realized that she had been on the back of something- be it a car or Pokemon- and fallen off. But she didn't think further than that, because soon the pain caused her to black out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, who put the Vivillon in a cage? And will our heroes save her? And will Argent ever go camping? Read and comment to find out!


	6. Chapter 6

Pokemon Hunters were despised by even those who hired them.

Created by demand when selling Pokemon became illegal, Pokemon hunters were a ruthless group. They were willing to do anything to get rare Pokemon, including stealing them from the trainers who owned them. They practically ran the black market, selling rare and valuable Pokemon for prices that would've made their buyers cry if the buyers weren't filthy rich themselves.

Austin Bernard had always wanted to be one. Or at least it seemed that way to him. In reality, he had wanted to be one since the show Xavier Knight came on television.

Xavier Knight was a (fictional) Pokemon Hunter, and the star of his own action television program. He was smart, brave, ruthless, and, in the eyes of many twelve year old children, the epitome of cool. Cavier spent half an hour (twenty minutes without commercials) every week kicking good guy butt to gain some kind of rare Pokemon, using a variety of incredible gadgets. Austin wanted to be just like him.

And he would be. As soon as he found the Pokemon that fell off his bike.

* * *

 

"I hate this damn thing!" Braedon cursed. "Sableye, to the right!"

Sableye darted towards the Bunnelby, who jumped back into it's hole just as Sableye tried to tackle it.

Amber sweatdropped. "Are you sure you don't want me to-"

Braedon gritted his teeth. "No way. This thing is mine. Sableye, over there!"

Sableye darted to the right and just missed Bunnelby. Amber could swear she heard a snicker as it went down.

"That's it!" Braedon declared. He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it. "Kecleon, Bind!"

Kecleon appeared in a flash of light. It's tongue darted out and snaked into the hole, pulling out a squirming Bunnelby.

"Now, throw him!" Braedon commanded. Kecleon threw Bunnelby, and The Digging Pokemon flew across the field and slammed into a tree.

Braedon threw a Pokeball. Bunnelby disappeared inside it. Braedon nearly did a football dance when he heard it click.

"Woo!" he yelked, probably scaring all the wild Pokemon of Route 2. He did a little dance.

Amber laughed. "Are you done?"

He did a few more moves, then nodded. "Now that that's done, let's meet His Highness and move on to Santalune forest." Braedon said. The three of them had entered Route 2 (also called the Avance Trail) that morning after staying at the Pokemon Center overnight. They decided to catch the Pokemon native to the area that were on their list- the Bunnelby, Fletchling, and Vivillon evolutionary lines. They had decided to each take one evolutionary line. Amber had already caught a Scatterbug, Spewpa, and Vivillon, then she ran into Braedon trying to catch Bunnelby (which, due to it's speed, was apparently harder to catch then it's evolved form Diggersby). Argent was somewhere trying to catch a Fletchling. But Fletchling were plentiful and easy to catch, what with their low levels and abundance. Amber suspected he was trying to catch it's older and more dangerous evolution. Even though they had agreed to wait until they were together to do that.

"Wait. The Pokedex has a tracer function." Amber said. She pulled it out of her Pokedex and switched it on. "It takes a few seconds, but it should find him."

"While you do that, I'll catalog Bunnelby and Diggersby." Braedon said. He scanned both Pokeballs at once, something he could do due to the Pokedex's advanced features.

"Bunnelby, The Digging Pokemon. Bunnelby has ears like shovels. Digging holes strengthens its ears so much that they can sever thick roots effortlessly. If left alone, it will spend all night digging without rest. Level 10. Moves Known: Agility, Leer, Quick Attack, Double Slap. Ability: Pickup."

" _Diggersby, The Digging Pokemon. With their powerful ears, they can heft boulders of a ton or more with ease. They can be a big help at construction sites. When it's finished digging, it lounges lazily. Level 22. Moves Known:Rototiller, Hammer Arm, Swords Dance, and Agility."_

Amber whistled. "This Diggersby has some impressive moves. Nice job catching him."

"Thanks." Braedon said. "That was fun. Unlike this annoying little shit." he glared at Bunnelby's Pokeball, before putting both Pokeballs in his bag.

"Got'em!" Amber said. "The Pokedex says that he's this way."

Amber and Braedon started walking in the direction the Pokedex pointed them in. It didn't take them long to find Argent, whose was still looking for a Talonflame when they found him.

"Why'd you go by yourself?" Braedon asked him hotly.

"I thought I saw one." Argent retorted as they started to walk down the Route. Amber decided to ignore them and take in the scenery. Route 1 wasn't anything special, but the Pokemon were fun to watch. "But it was just a rather large Fletchinder."

"Like it matters!" Braedon snapped. "You were supposed to wait for us-"

"I didn't think I would find a Talonflame anyway-"

"Again, it doesn't matter!" Braedon continued. "That was a stupid thing to do. Your Pokemon have a weakness to fire types."

"I had a plan." Argent said coolly. "That may be a foreign concept to you-"

"Oh, shut up!"

Amber started to walk ahead of them. She was getting tired of their constant bickering, even if she agreed with Braedon. Granted, Argent wasn't the most pleasant or humble companion, and Braedon was a bit of a troublemaker, but neither of them were even trying to get along. Were their personalities so opposing that the two would always clash?

Maybe, maybe not. Amber hoped not. The whole journey would be tiring if they spent the whole time fighting.

But you're not here to have fun. She reminded herself. You're here to help your family.

Her family. Amber had nearly forgotten them for a second, and felt guilty. She had been away from them before, when she was staying at her boarding school. But that didn't mean she didn't miss them. She was a shy town girl. Her family had been her only friends until she met Tyrunt and then Braedon.

Amber thought of Braedon and Argent arguing behind her, then of Tyrunt and Tauros asleep in their Pokeballs. She wasn't alone, at least. She had her partner, her best friend, a Pokemon from her home, and a new companion. Things could be worse.

She could trip over a something and look like a dork.

"Oof!" Amber cried as she fell to the ground, catching herself with her hands.

"Amber!" Braedon yelled. Amber got up and looked behind her. She hadn't realized how far ahead she was of the two. They were several yards away.

"Vivill!"

Amber looked down at what she tripped over. It looked like one of those things used to hold people and Pokemon before Apricorn and Pokeballs. She had seen one in her history book.

The word came to her lips. "A cage?"

She crouched down and peered inside. Their was a Pokemon inside. It was black with enormous red and white wings "A Vivillon?"

The Pokemon nodded. "Viv!" it cried out. It tried to sit up, then cringed in pain.

Amber gasped. "Are you okay?" Amber asked it. It shook it's head.

Amber heard the others run to her."Amber, what are you- oh my Arceus!" Argent pointed to the cage, at the thing Amber missed. A tear in Vivillon's wing.

Amber's life taking care of Pokemon meant she had seen many wounds, both human and Pokemon. But that didn't mean thry had ever stopped disgusting her.

"We need to get her out of this cage." Braedon said automatically.

"Wound comes first." Amber said, pulling a bottle out of her backpack. It was a Super Potion, created by scientists to heal a Pokemon's wounds. "This should at least mend it until we can get you to a Pokemon Center.

Vivillon tried to cower away from the bars as Amber stuck her hand in between them.

"It's okay." Amber told it softly. "I'm trying to help you. Please come back."

Vivillon hesitated, then moved forward. "Okay. This is gonna hurt a little..."

Amber sprayed the tear with her potion. It began to seal itself.

"Viv!" Vivillon cried out.

Amber put a soothing hand on Vivillon's head, between its antennas . Vivillon jumped back.

"Hey now, don't do that." Amber scolded it. "I know it hurts, but this will help you. Look, see your wing?" Amber gestured to it, and Vivillon turned her head to look at the wound. Already it was closing up.

"See?" Amber said softly. "It's okay. Come here ..."

Vivillon scotted forward again, and Amber sprayed the contents of the rest of the bottle on the wing. Vivillon winced but did not move away.

"See?" Amber said kindly. "That wasn't too bad. " she turned to Braedon and pointed at the cage. "You're up."

"Huh?" Argent asked.

"It's a key lock." Amber said, as if that explained everything.

Braedon rubbed his hands together. "Okay, let's see what we got..." he pulled out Klefki's Pokeball and pressed the button. "Come on out, Klefki!"

The Pokeball opened, releasing Klefki. Braedon grinned.

"C'mere" he said. "I need my picks."

Klefki floated over to Braedon, jingling it's key as it did so. It's ring broke into two pieces that bothe quiclky curled upwards so the keys didn't fall. Braedon removed a small keyring with what resembled nail files with weird ends on it.

"Is that a lock pick?" Argent asked reproachfully.

Braedon crouched down next to Amber and began to work on the lock. "Got a problem with it, Your Highness?"

"Actually, yes. It's highly un-"

"Done!" Braedon cried, standing up. "That's a new record, I'm sure."

Amber rolled her eyes and opened the cage. Vivillon flew out of it like a Zubat out of Hell.

"Wait!" Amber cried. "That's not safe! You're still healing."

"Am, she's fine." Braedon said as Vivillon did a happy twirl.

"But how?" Amber wondered. "That wound shouldn't be healed completely with just one potion... Unless..."

"Unless what?" Argent asked.

Amber brought out her Pokedex and scanned her. "Vivillon, The Scale Pokemon. The patterns on Vivillon's wings depend on the climate and topography of its habitat. It scatters colorful scales. Female. Level 12. Moves Known: Powder, Gust, String Shot, and Struggle Bug. Ability: Compound Eyes. This Vivillon has a Pokeball Pattern."

"Pokeball Pattern?" Braedon asked.

"Each Vivillon has a different pattern on it's back based on it's region. But Vivillon who live here should have the continental patterns. Strange."

"Well, at least we know why Vivillon healed so fast." Amber said, petting the Bug type affectionately. "She's young."

Argent nodded. All three of them knew that Potions worked better the lower lever you were. "It probably just evolved."

Vivillon flew around Amber's head then landed on the back so it looked like Amber had a Vivillon hat.

Amber laughed. "Such a cutie you are!" she gushed.

"Hey!" someone yelled. Amber looked towards the source of the sound.

"That's my Vivillon!" The voice cried. Out of the trees ran a boy less than Amber's height (translation: short) with messy orange hair. He wore a cowboy costume, which perplexed Amber the most.

"It's your Vivillon?" Braedon asked, narrowing his eyes. Vivillon clung harder to Amber.

Amber knew this Pokemon well. She had grown up raising them as part of the ranch. So she knew when a Pokemon was scared. It would flutter it's wings frantically and make a buzzing sound.

Amber's eyes narrowed as well.

The boy nodded. "I thought I lost it!" he cried.

"Did you?" Argent asked cooly.

"Yeah, I did." The boy said. "She's mine, so if you could just give her to me-"

"Because," Argent continued. "We just scanned it with one of our Pokedexes. And almost every Pokedex, even the basic models, has a function that tells the user if the Pokemon belongs to another trainer. So if we scan it, will it tell us that the Vivillon belongs to you?"

The boy's eyes widened, and Amber knew that he knew that he had been caught.

"Right," Argent said. Amber could almost feel the proud smirk he was holding back. "We'll be leaving then. With Vivillon."

"No!" The boy said. He withdrew a Pokeball. "It's mine and you can't have it! "

"You wanna battle?" Braedon said with an evil glint in his eye. He grabbed Sableye's Pokeball. "We can do that too."

Amber stepped forward. "No way, Braedon. You'll destroy him. We'll just take Vivillon and-"

"No!" The boy cried. He started to jump up and down. "No! I'm Austin Bernard, and I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokemon Hunter! Greater than Xavier Knight! So I need to catch that rare Vivillon!"

Amber took a step back. "Pokemon Hunter?" she muttered. Amber knew all about Pokemon Hunters. As someone who worked/lived at a Pokemon Ranch, a place that raised Pokemon both rare and common, she had heard about them all her life. Ranches were magnets for Poachers and the like, so they became something akin to the boogeyman to Amber: a threat that could very well be under her bed. She had heard countless stories from her parents about Pokemon Hunters. So naturally, she had an innate hatred of them since she was young.

And then five years ago happened...

"Why the hell would you want to be one of those?" she yelled, shocking her companions and herself. Vivillon tensed even more on her head. Amber wasn't the kind of girl to act like this. She was quiet, reserved. It's not that she hated talking- she was scared that she would say the wrong thing and embarrass herself, or offend someone, or something.

But this was different. Like when she had argued with her parents months ago and when she rode Tauros to catch Rotom, she felt a great stirring inside her. Like she had to do this. Her fears were still there. Amber still wanted to stop talking and apologize, just so everyone would stop staring at her. But her anger overpowered that. She was pissed. "Don't you know how horrible those people are?"

Austin shook his head vigorously. "You're wrong! No one's cooler than Xavier Knight!"

Argent paused. "Wait. Where have I heard that name before?"

The boy balled his fists. "He's the greatest Pokemon Hunter in existence!"

"I know." Braedon said. "It's from that stupid show on the History Network."

"It's not stupid! It's cool and-"

"Anything that glorifies something as deplorable as Pokemon Hunting is worse than stupid." Amber insisted. "I've never heard of Xavier Knight, but I can tell you right now that he's a terrible person, fictional or not."

The boy crossed his arms. "Take that back! And give me my Vivillon! I caught it fair and square."

He made a grab for Vivillon, but Amber moved out of the way. He tried to grab her, but Braedon pushed him back. Vivillon fluttered from Amber's head to a safe distance away from them.

Something clicked in Amber's head. "That was you who broke Vivillon's wing! Wasn't it?"

"W-what?" he asked.

Amber got right in his face. "You said you caught her. We found her in a cage with a broken wing."

"I-I- I didn't-" he sputtered. "Her wing wasn't broken when I caught her! She was sleeping."

Amber wanted to punch him. "That doesn't matter!" she snapped. "She could've died, you little brat!"

The boy took a step back. "I wasn't trying to hurt her! Honest! I just wanted to sell her. She has a rare wing pattern- selling her would make me a real Pokemon Hunter."

Amber was almost shaking. "Y-you-"

Braedon put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. "Am, let's just take Vivillon and go."

Amber nodded jerkily. "Right." she said in a low voice.

"No!" The boy cried again. "She's mine! I'm taking her home."

Braedon stepped forward. "Listen here you little shit-"

"It doesn't matter." Argent interrupted. "Vivillon is gone any way."

Amber looked up. Sure enough, Vivillon was no longer there.

"Ugh!" the boy said. "You let it get away!" he pushed Amber and Braedon out of the way and ran in the direction Vivillon went.

"Hey!" Braedon yelled. He moved to follow the kid, but Amber held him back.

"Stop." she said. "He's not worth it. Besides, Vivillon's long gone now. He won't catch her."

"Amber..." Braedon put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

Amber brushed him off. "C'mon. We need to get a move on if we're going to get to the Santalune Forest Pokemon Center before sundown."

And with that, she started walking.


End file.
